1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image recognition apparatus and an image recognition method which recognizes input images by comparing them with image patterns registered in a dictionary in advance.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional image recognition apparatus generates a sampling pattern by performing predetermined processes on an input image and normalizing this image, and thereafter compares similarities between the sampling pattern and plural patterns registered in advance in the storage unit so as to recognize the input image. However, the complexity of the calculation of the similarities is enormous and an image recognition process takes a long time in the image recognition apparatus. Accordingly, there are proposed methods to recognize an input image by taking gradations of pixels (pixel values) of an image as features ((JP-A 02-166583 (KOKAI)).